Propeller mechanism for vessels.



Patented June 12,' |900.

S. GRIFFIN.

PRPELLER MECHANISM FOR VESSELS.

(Application filed Dec. 31, 18972) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2'.

(No Model.)

IN VE N TUI? Patented lune I2, |900.

s. GRIFFIN. PnoPELLER mEcHAmsm For: vEssELs.

(Application filed Dec, 31, 1897.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3,

(No Model.)

Nrrnn Y STATES Friese;

SAMUEL GRIFFIN, 0F BATH, ENGLAND.

PROPELLER MECHANISNI FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 651,504, dated June 12, 1900. Application led December 31, 1897. Serial No. 664,918. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL GRIFFIN, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Bath, in the county of Somerset, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propeller Mechanism for Vessels, of which the following is a full and complete specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to screw-propellers for vessels; and it has for its object to provide a simple and improved propelling mechanism which will be adapted to enable the boat or vessel to be startedor reversed-z'. e. propelled ahead or astern--or stopped without any necessity for stopping or reversing the driving-motor itself or the driving-shaft connected therewith.

My invention and improvements are especially adapted for effective operation in connection with petroleum or gas motors of any type in which a continuous motion of the motor in one direction is essential or desirable.

In carrying out my invention I provide two propellers arranged in a relatively-concentric manner on the end of the propeller-shaft, each propeller being independent and free to revolve on the propeller-shaft. The two concentricallyarranged propellers are respectively provided with blades pitched in an opposite direction-c'. e., right and left handand are adapted to be separately engaged with or disengaged from the propellenshaft, as desired, by means of any suitable or adapted mechanism either during the motion of the driving-motor or when the latter is at rest.

I prefer to arrange the forward propellerc., the one for driving the vessel forwardnext to the rudder, and the backward propel ler-'t'. c., the one for driving the vessel back wardly-next to the keel; but I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to this relative arrangement.

In one application of my invention the forward propulsion of the vessel will be eected by connecting the propeller next to the rudder with the propeller-shaft by means of any suitable or adapted mechanism, (such' as a clutch or connecting gear,) thus imparting tarding effect upon the motion of the vessel. To reverse the direction of travel of the boat, it is only necessary to connect the propeller next to the keel with the propellershaft and at the same time disconnect the i forward-motion propeller when an action reverse to that just described for forward propulsion will ensue and the vessel will be moved backwardly. To entirely stop the movement of the vessel, it is only necessary to disconnect both propellers from the propeller-shaft, so that the latter revolves loosely and idly and without imparting motion to either propeller. Under some circumstances it may also be desirable or advantageous to arrange the clutch or other suitable mechanism for engaging the propellers with the driving-shaft or disengaging them therefrom in the interior of the ves` sel instead of between the propellers themselves, as above set forth, vin which case it will be advantageous to fit the forward propeller next to the keel andA the backward propeller next to the rudder. In carrying out this latter arrangement the forward propeller may be mounted on a hollow shaft passing through the st'ern into the interior of the vessel, and the backward propeller may be carried by a separate shaft passing through said hollow shaft and also into the interior of the vessel, these two shafts being respectively and independently connected with and disconnected from the driving-shaft by means of any adapted clutch or other mechanism arranged in the interior of the boat at any desired or convenient point.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by the same letters of referencein each of the views, and in Which- Figure l is a longitudinal sectional View of a lshaft and propeller mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top or plan View IOO of the same. stern portion of the vessel, showing the same fitted with the propellers and connected mechanism. Fig. 4t isa longitudinal sectional view illustratinga modified construction; and Fig. 5, a plan view of a portion of the construction, part thereof being shown in section.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, a. a designate propellers having right and left hand blades, respectively. b h designate loose rings, which are carried bya boss c and fit corresponding recessesin the bosses of the respective propellers a a', said rings being divided by wedge-shaped slots d d, respectively. The boss c is firmly fitted to the propeller-shaft g between the propellers a a' and is slotted longitudinally through the propeller-shaft to receive a bolt e. This bolt, which I term the clutch-bolt, is provided with wedge-shaped ends e' e2, adapted to engage with the slots d d', and the bolt has a longitudinal movement by means of a connecting-rod f, which passes through a central bore in the propeller-shaft and is connected with the inner end of the bolt, which projects through the slots and into the shaft. This rod f maybe actuated by a sliding boss 7L, arranged upon the propeller-shaft at a point corresponding to the inner end of the rod and connected with the latter by a key or pin t', passing through slots in the propeller-shaft. The handle-leverj may be suitably mounted and arranged to communicate the sliding motion to the boss h by means of a link 7s, connected with a lever Z, mounted upon a rock-shaft m, which carries a forked lever a, operating in a recess 7L in the sliding boss 7L. The position of the lever j in its forward-andbackward adjusting .movement is indicated by the dotted lines j' j?, respectively.

o o designate collars, which are fitted tightly to the propeller-shaft at the respective outer sides of the propellers a a'.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be readily understood. When the handle-lever j is at its middle point of adjustment, the clutch-bolt c by reason of the intervening mechanism between it and the handle-lever will be at its middle point of adjustment with relation to the loose rings ZJ b,and the propeller-shaft g and boss c will revolve without communicating motion to either of the propellers, the latter being loose on the propeller-shaft and being retained in position by the boss c and the respective fixed collars o o. It will be obvious that when the mechanism is in the position just stated the propeller-shaft will freely revolve without propelling the vessel in either direction. In order to propel the vessel in a forward direction, the leverj is moved to the position indicated by the dotted lines j', .when the clutchbolt e will by operation of the intermediate mechanism be moved so that its wedge-sh aped end e will be forced into the corresponding slot (Z in the ring b, thus causing the latter to expand and bear tightly against its corre- Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the' spending recess in the boss of the propeller c.. A powerful frictional contact is thus es tablished between the propeller aand the propeller-shaft g and boss c, and the propeller a will be revolved by the shaft and propel the vessel in a forward direction. The reverse propeller a being at this time loose upon the shaft g will by reason of the action of the water upon its blades revolve freely in a direction opposite to the motion of the shaftg and without any material retardation of the progress of the vessel. In order to propel the boat astern or backward, it is only necessary to move ,the lever j into the position shown by the dotted lines j2, when an action reverse to that just above described will take place. It will be understood that the reverse movement of the clutch-bolt e at once releases the propeller a and at the same time establishes a corresponding frictional contact between the propeller a and the shaft f so that t-he vessel moves astern by reason of the i reverse pitch of the propeller-blades of the propeller a'.

From the foregoing it will be seen that by the simple movement of the hand-lever j either into forward, backward, or central position the various operations of starting, re versing, and stopping the motion of the vessel can be effected without stopping or reversing the motion of the propeller-shaft g or the motor mechanism which actuales it.

In Fig. @t I have illustrated a modified construction, in which the two propellers of opposite pitch are each rigidly fixed upona scparate shaft, the two shafts being concentric to each other and arranged with clutch or connecting and disconnecting mechanism at a point in the interior of the boat, said mechanisms being adapted to actuate either one shaft or the other, or neither, thereby revolving either one screw or the other, or neither, as desired.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, A A designato propellers having right and left hand blades, respectively. B B designate solid and tubular shafts,v respectively, having the respective propellers A A rigidly fixed thereto. C2 C designate recessed bosses which are respectively fixed to the shafts B B. D designates a boss which receives motion through a boss E from the driving-shaft F, this boss Ebeing grooved longitudinally to receive a conical-ended bolt G, which engages or disengages alternately split rings II and H'. I designates a sliding collar on the shaft F, which collar is actuated by a suitable lever (not shown) in connection with a collar Z and communicates a longitudinal motion to the bolt Gr through the link J, rock-lever K, and link L.

The operation of the modified construction shown in Fig. 4 will be readily understood, this modified construction being in all material respects similar in action to that already described, and illustrated in Figs. l, 2, and 3 of the drawings, the tubular or hollow shaft IOC) TIO

B and shaft B being virtually prolongations of the respective bosses of the propellers A' and A.

In the drawings the position of the conicalended bolt G is shown midway between the rings H and H, so that the shaft F and boss E will revolve without communicating motion to either of the recessed bosses C and C2, and consequently the propellers will be idle. When the collar I is moved toward the propellers, the bolt G, by means of the intervening mechanism, will expand the ring I-I into the corresponding recess of the boss C2, and thus communicate motion through the shaft B to the propeller A. During this 0peration of the propeller A the propeller A' will be free to revolve, by the action of the water on its blades, in an opposite direction, and in so doing its propeller A, being iiXed on the hollow shaft B', will revolve said shaft, together with the recessed boss C', iixed on said shaft. By moving the collar I in a direction opposite to that just above described the bolt G will engage with the ring I-I and cause it to expand in the recess of the boss C, whereby the hollow shaft B will revolve and carry with it the propeller A', the propeller A being by the same movement released and free to revolve by the action of the water on its blades, together with the shaft B, upon which it is iiXed, and the recessed boss C2, carried on said shaft.

It will be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details of construction as herein shown and described, but reserve the right to all such modifications as may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

l-Iaving fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. An improved propelling 1nechanism,com prising a drivin g-shaft, two propellers loosely mounted with relation to said driving-shaft, bosses connected with each of said propellers, said bosses being each provided with annular grooves or depressions, a split ring arranged in each of said annular grooves or depressions, a sliding bolt mounted between said bosses and adapted to alternately operate said split rings and means for operating said sliding bolt,substantially as shown and described.

2. In a power mechanism, constructed as herein described, the combination with a propeller-shaft, of two propellers loosely mounted with relation to the drivin g-shaft, each of said propellers being provided with a boss in each of which is an annular space or chamber, a split ring arranged in each of said annular spaces or chambers, a sliding bolt suitably supported between said split rings and adapted to operate in connection therewith so as to expand said rings within said bosses, said sliding bolt being normally out of engagement with either of said rings, and means .for throwing said bolt into engagement with either of said rings, substantially as shown and described.

3. An improved propeller mechanism, comprisin ga driving-shaft, two propellers respectively having blades of right and left hand pitch, and loosely mounted with relation to said driving-shaft, bosses connected with the respective propellers and recessed, split rings respectively arranged in the recesses of said bosses, a sliding bolt mounted between said recessed bosses and connected with the driving-shaft, the ends of said bolt being adapted to respectively engage the split rings to cause the binding of the same in their recesses, and means for actuating said sliding bolt, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. An improved propelling mechanism of the class described, comprising a drivingshaft carrying a boss, two screw-propellers respectively having blades of right and left hand pitch loosely mounted with relation to the driving-shaft and respectively having bosses provided with recesses, split rings arranged in said recesses, and a sliding bolt carried by the boss upon the driving-shaft and having its ends respectively adapted to engage said split rings to bind them in their recesses, said sliding bolt being normally out of engagement with either ring during the revolution of the driving-shaft, and means for throwing said bolt into engagement with the split ring of either propeller to communicate the motion of the driving-shaft to said propeller, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of the subscribing witnesses, this 20th day of December, 1897.

SAMUEL GRIFFIN. 1Witnesses:

H. Pnnas LYLE, JAMES RrHUGHEs, WILLIAM A. SUMsioN.

IOO 

